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How Do I Bring Consulting Into My Lease Purchase Business

Nov 2

Posted by admin in Finance, Real Estate

As you are making your cold calls on property, you will run into sellers that are having a hard time selling, however, the numbers just don’t work for you to take on the deal. Do you just say, “I can’t work with those numbers”.

Heck, no. In fact, I don’t even use that phrasing.

After I get all my information on the house, financing, why they are selling, and what their needs are; I know whether or not the deal will work. I always send a follow-up letter, and a brochure. I follow-up a couple of days later to be sure they got the information, and mention that I could consult with them and help them move the property quickly, usually in 30 days or less.

Remember, the time factor here. You are using consulting because the numbers don’t work. The seller, however, needs to move the property within a specific time frame, so you have an additional option and a very good solution for him.

If the seller is not time motivated, you will not get a consultation immediately. Consulting might work later on, but she/he is going to want to think about it. When I cold call on these, I follow-up with a brochure, my phone call that they received the information, and that I will get back to them or they can call me if the traditional methods don’t work for them. I always say to them, I just want them to know that there are other options for them to go with.

You have to give value in your consultations. If you don’t have some kind of written material for them, which I strongly suggest, you will have to sit down with them, and do a lot of hand holding. This also limits you to only working with individuals in your immediate area, and as we mention in our manuals and e-books, consulting on the web is a dream, and can add substantially to your cash flow.

You also need to have a reasonable price structure. I know some people believe in charging a bundle for consultations (many of these individuals only work in areas e.g. CA they can get away with this; I’d like to see them try this in let’s say Indiana, Kentucky, or some areas in the South); however keeping your pricing at a affordable level gets you more business, more referrals, and ultimately more money. Pricing is going to also be very dependent on the area you are working in.

I’d rather have five consultations per week than just one, because I then have five people that can refer me to their friends and colleagues.

What we do is offer several packages to sellers. The consultation is at a basic rate with 30, 60 and 90 day follow up periods. The price is commiserate with the follow-up periods.

So try consulting, it’s another income stream for you, that is also a win-win-win situation for you, the seller and the tenant/buyer.

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Get Your Taxes In Order As The Year Comes To A Close

Nov 1

Posted by admin in Taxes

If you complain about paying taxes, and who doesn’t, then you need to take steps to limit the pain next April. Yep, you should always make adjustments to your finances at the end of each year.

People are unique and so are their financial situations. Whipping your finances together at the end of the year is really a matter of deducing what type of year you had. If you are a salaried employee of a business, you taxes are going to be fairly simple as are the financial moves you need to make. A business owner, on the other hand, is going to be dealing with a much more complex situation. Let’s take a closer look.

As a salaried tax payer, you are both fortunate and unfortunate when it comes to taxes. On the fortunate side, you really do not have to do much to address your tax situation. On the unfortunate side, this is because you are really restricted in regard to the steps you can take to limit your tax bill. Foremost among these steps is to maximize your contributions to pre-tax retirement vehicles such as a 401(k) account. If you have yearly bonuses coming up, try to jam them into your 401(k) so you don’t end up owing in April. In addition to this step, you should go through all your finances and deduce whether you can create any tax deductible expenses to offset your income.

If you own a small business, you already know things are a bit more complicated. In this case, you want to try to limit the profit of the business to minimize both your income tax and your self-employment tax. If you are on a cash basis accounting, are there any expenses you can take now instead of January. For instance, can you buy new computers or whatever you are going to need? So long as the expenses are legitimate, you can use this tactic to minimize your taxable income.

If your small business is complex or you own a larger business, you should really take a common sense step. That step is to sit down with a certified public account and discuss your situation. He or she can give look at your finances and offer specific steps that can be taken to reduce your tax bill for the year. The key to this approach, however, is to make the time to sit down with the accountant NOW! If you try to show up on December 30th or in January, you are limiting your options and hurting yourself.

I have a general rule when it comes to taxes. If you want to complain about the amount you pay in April, you can only do so if you take every step to limit them. If you do no planning, you can only blame yourself for the huge tax bill you end up with in April.

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Business Debt Relief : A Short Guide

Aug 28

Posted by admin in Debt Relief

Running your own business is a dream for many people have. The enjoyment of working for yourself and being your own boss is hard to beat. However, in these tough economic times, it can also be quite a challenge. Unlike when you work for someone else, if there isn’t enough money coming in, and the debts are building up, it’s down to you to do something about it.

By improving the flow of money into and from your business, you may find that you can manage to resolve your business’s debt problem. Look at increasing the amount of money your business receives by investigating what grants or benefits you should be getting paid. Try to reduce your costs so the business is spending less money, but if this isn’t enough to solve all your business debts, you need to take further action.

Businesses usually have priority and secondary debts, and they need to be dealt with in that order. Priority debts are the most important because these creditors can take a range of actions against you that could mean losing your property, equipment, even your freedom. Secondary debts are to creditors who have less power to recover their money, but they are still important, and you need to do whatever you can to resolve all debt issues.

There are a couple of options for making arrangements with your creditors to pay your business debts. You could look to set up informal arrangements with your creditors, which is usually possible if your debt problem is short term, or likely to be resolved by changes to the businesses finances. Alternatively, you can set up a Company Voluntary Arrangement, which is a more formal arrangement to pay your business debts, but it should prevent the problem getting any worse.

Going into administration may be an option you have to consider if your business debts continue to grow. With this solution, you are at least able to keep trading while a professional helps you manage your debt problem. However, if the problem is too serious, your company could be forced into Receivership, or liquidated so the money made from selling off the assets of the business can be used to give something back to your creditors.

Running your own business can be one of the best ways to make a living, but not all businesses succeed. If you find you are getting into trouble, and your business debts are mounting up, it’s important to get advice as soon as possible. Organisation such as Advice UK and Business Link should be able to help you choose the best option for sorting out your business debts.

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What Bankruptcy Is All About And What You Should Never Do If You Are Filing Part One

Jun 22

Posted by admin in Debt Consolidation

Every day, more and more Americans slip into debt, and many will file for bankruptcy. As you may know, declaring bankruptcy is the most intense of all financial makeovers. Most of your debts will be absolved, but financial experts continually warn us that it should be treated as a last resort. When you file for bankruptcy, you might as well get a big rubber stamp that says “Don’t Give Me Credit!” and slam it on your credit report for the next ten years. It may seem like a good idea now, but in the future, when you find that your ability to obtain a car, living environment or even employment may be greatly hindered, it may not seem so great. So, it is absolutely imperative that if you are planning to declare bankruptcy, know what you are doing, and have a good game plan.

Basically, there are five chapters of bankruptcy that you can file for, chapter seven being the most common. What will happen when you file Chapter Seven is that a trustee will be appointed to handle your finances. They will collect any of your property that is deemed up for grabs (non-exempt property), and then they will sell this and distribute the proceeds to the creditors you owe money to. Chapter Nine bankruptcy is available only to municipalities, and since municipalities are municipalities this bankruptcy is more of a form of reorganization, not liquidation.

Chapter Eleven, Twelve and Thirteen bankruptcies are also available. These get a bit more involved due to the fact that instead of liquidation, the debtor is permitted to keep some or all of her property while she uses her future earnings to pay off the debt. Individuals can file for Chapter Thirteen, while Chapter Eleven is mostly for businesses. Chapter Twelve is similar to Thirteen but is more rare on account of the fact that it is only available to “family fishermen” or “family farmers” only in particular situations.

So, now that we have that brief summary over with, if you are thinking about declaring bankruptcy, here is a list of things NOT to do:

We’ll begin with the most obvious. Once you have made the choice to declare bankruptcy, don’t use your credit cards anymore. It may seem like a genius move at first, but it is just not a good idea to recklessly incur more debt that you do not intend to repay. Keep in mind if you take on a huge amount of debt and then suddenly file for bankruptcy, that makes you look mighty suspicious, and creditors don’t like to play the dummy: you could lose your right to cancel out the debt in the bankruptcy. Actually, in 2005, a series of bankruptcy reforms lowered the threshold on extensive purchases, called “luxury purchases” to five hundred dollars and extended the period where you could be caught for abuse to ninety days before filing. So anything that you buy in this time period will be under extra scrutiny. More DONT’S In Part Two…

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Get The Funding Your Business Needs With A Business Cash Advance

Mar 27

Posted by admin in Loans

Operating a business can be hard if you are in urgent need of financial help. It can also prove difficult, if not impossible to getting the funding that you need, especially during these hard times. You may have felt the hardships of securing a loan just to make sure your establishment stays running. As much as you want to keep everything running just fine, having trouble getting the money that you need will really hinder you. What, then, is the most viable solution to your financing problems?

Ideally, you should be able to manage all your finances the right way to be able to run your business properly. But then, it’s easier said than done. In these hard times, anything can happen. The good news is that you can go for a business cash advance in order for you to get the business financing that you need.

Loan applications are the most common methods of raising immediate cash for business expenses. However, they are no longer considered as viable options because they are liabilities due to the need for collateral. The interest rates can also be very high, especially in the event that you are late in your repayments.

Business owners who want to run their business with ease see regular business loan applications through traditional channels as an impractical business financing option. On the other hand, a business cash advance can be a much better solution, since it is easier and faster. How does it work though, and how can your business benefit?

Business cash advance is one of the fast growing financing options in the market today. If you want to avoid the hassles and paper works, this is an option you can check out. You can try looking for a legitimate company online who are offering this service, fill out an application form, get to speak with one of their business specialist and that’s it. Applications can be approved within 24 hours, and funds can be received within 5 – 10 business days depending on the method used.

To get a business cash advance, you need to make ensure you meet the following requirements:

1. Your business must accept credit card transactions.

2. You need to be operating for a year or more.

3. You need to have your merchant account statements for the past 6 months.

Considering a business cash advance can be a real advantage for your business since you generally get the business financing you need and quickly. Also you only repay a small percentage of your daily credit card transactions, which makes it very convenient. As a result you won’t have any big monthly repayments to make and the process can be painless. So, if you want to be a smart entrepreneur, consider a business cash advance, and take your business to new heights.

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Get To Know The Score: What’s Up With Your Credit Report?

Feb 10

Posted by admin in Credit, Finance

Your credit score can be likened to your criminal record. Both will follow you around for a very long time, and both are supposed reflections of the person you are. Only you and perhaps your attorney will know your criminal record. But your credit score can be pulled when you apply for a credit card, or go to get a new car, or even try to move in to a new place.

For those not in the know, your credit score is based on a number system between 300 and 850. A secret formula (OK a mathematical algorithm) will determine what your number will be. Creditors and experts agree that your credit score is said to be a very accurate prediction of how likely you are to pay off your bills.

Your credit score is crucial. If you already have a credit card, the creditor will most likely take a look at your credit score to decide whether to decrease your credit limit, or give you a higher interest rate. Those lucky people with the highest scores obtain the lowest rates.

But don’t bug out yet if you have a low credit score; there are ways to improve your credit report. The most important thing is to try to pay your bills on time. Paying late or even worse, allowing a negative account to go to a collection company can have a negative impact on your credit score. It logically follows that the longer you pay your bills on time the better your credit score will be.

Attempt to pay off debt rather than move it around. It’s just the most effective way to improve your credit score. Don’t close your unused credit cards. Closing will close the gap between the amount of credit you are using, and the sum amount available. If you have a bunch of credit, and only use a little, its good.

And for the love of God, don’t open new accounts. New accounts are just not useful in credit scoring because they will lower your average account age. Which leads me to my final point. Longevity. Try to maintain your oldest accounts. Longevity has a lot of clout on credit reports, so the oldest account you have is the most available.

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Five Great Tax Tips For Small Business Owners

Jul 26

Posted by admin in Taxes

Tax law is complex and terrifying to most people, and technical jargon makes filing returns an insurmountable ordeal for most people.
The IRS needs to do its job, just like the rest of us, but everyone has heard horror stories of IRS misconduct, negligence, and mistreatment. You have rights as a taxpayer. Knowledge is power, and dealing with the IRS is no exception.

Most people are hard-working, honest, and just want to comply with the law. However, with increasingly complicated tax law, how are most people supposed to understand their own tax situation?
You may have many questions about what is deductible in your business. Well, if you are self employed, a lot of things are! All of your supplies, health insurance, beauty items, space rent, etc, is deductible if you own your own business. You can even deduct part of your home expenses if you conduct business in your home.

Other items, such as computers and other large or expensive items are called ?depreciable assets?. You can deduct these items over time. Keep track of all of these items on a spreadsheet, or a journal, so you have a good record of what you can depreciate.

5 Great Tax Tips for Small Business Owners

1. Open a Separate bank account for your business. This is so important! Keep your business deposits and expenses separate at all times?it makes things so much easier!! When you want to take money out for personal use, just write yourself a check and put ?owner withdrawl? in the memo line. That way, you keep track of personal expenses. Charge all your business expenses to a business credit card. You will be so happy at the end of the year that you did. If everything in your business is done under your own name, then you don?t need anything special to open an additional account for your business.

2. Keep all your receipts?in a shoebox, or Kleenex box, whatever. Keep proof of your expenses, and the IRS will never have a reason to question your deductions. Just write ?business? on the receipt.

3. Don?t be sneaky with cash! The IRS has a can obtain warrants to examine all your bank accounts, credit accounts, and assets if it believes fraud has occurred. This is how most people get caught. Don?t deposit huge sums of cash into your personal bank account and then try to explain it later when the IRS asks you where you got it. It?s not worth it. Currently, some of the criminal penalties for major tax fraud exceed penalties for even violent crimes, like assault.

4. Don?t Forget to Pay Self-Employment Tax!- Many people are confused by this. Self-Employment tax is Medicare and Social Security that self-employed business owners must pay. Normally, when an employee works for a company, the business must pay some of the employee?s Social Security and Medicare taxes. However, when you own your own business, you still have to pay these taxes to the government.

5. Don?t Forget to File on Time! Don?t forget to file on time, even if you don?t have the money to pay your taxes. The penalties for filing late are much greater than if you file on time, and make a small payment. The IRS is much more forgiving with taxpayers that attempt to be compliant. The IRS will allow you to make payments, too. Just keep track of your payments, and see a tax professional if it seems too overwhelming.

Christine P Silva, BA, CRTP, lives in California with her husband, two children, and three spoiled cats. She earned her undergraduate degree from San Jose State University, and her advanced accounting certificate and tax license from Cosumnes River College. She is the founder of the Sacramento Volunteer Tax Preparation Clinic, a free service offering tax assistance to low income and Spanish-speaking taxpayers. Christine writes primarily non-fiction material. She enjoys writing about financial wellness, income tax matters, health, and senior issues.

Writen By : Christine Silva

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